Marketing Your Business

Things to keep in mind after your website is complete. 1. Updates & Maintenance: At some point, you will probably want to update your website, or maybe even do a redesign to give it a fresh new look. Send your ideas or consult with me for ideas you haven’t thought about. I’d be happy to help you out to make your website grow with your business. More updates produces higher Google rankings! 2. Adding Additional Features: Many times a client will just want a basic website so that they can be found online, but after time goes by you may realize how much more could be added to benefit you. Send us your needs and I’ll suggest new features that you might not have even thought of. 3. Spammers love you: After a website is made the scammers come out to play. You might get all kinds of offers to improve or even pretend that you need to do a renewal to get money out of you. Tricking you into losing your domain name to a reseller or even a competitor. Ignore and delete any emails or letters if they are not from me 4. Google Rankings: Remember it can take several months for Google to index a new website to be found in search results. Things do not happen overnight and an established website will get a higher- ranking than a new one, so be patient and be glad that your on you’re way to success. (more info) 5. Title, Keywords, and Description: After you read all of the following tips, and you feel you have done everything you can to improve your SEO and you are still not happy with your website visitor counts, remember the thing is with SEO is that you can always do more. You should however consider changing your website keywords. Keywords are something that you can research and learn more about. If you would like to know what your current keywords are (or your competitor’s keywords) I can email them to you.

Title, Keywords, and Descriptions Keyword research is one of the most important, valuable, and high return activities in the search marketing field. Ranking for the right keywords can make or break your website. It’s not always about getting visitors to your site, but about getting the right kind of visitors. The usefulness of this intelligence cannot be overstated. “Think of what a customer would use to search for you.” One of the best ways to do this is to look at websites that are similar to yours and see what keywords they are using. This Browser Extension works great for this! Your page title and description will be what’s seen in search results. By getting high-rankings you will not need to advertise as much because people will find it easy to find you! Keep in mind that if you do not use the same keywords in your website content your keywords will not hold much weight. You have to use the keywords in both locations or they will be almost useless. If you want to learn more about keywords and SEO, I encourage you to Google it, but keep in mind there are a lot of opinions and rules that are known to change often.

Your online presence is a BIG DEAL for rankings Search Engines take into account many other factors when they rank your website. One of the best ways is to make sure you are seen EVERYWHERE! You want to have many inbound links to your website from other places online. By setting up accounts in your “business name” with links to your website you look more important. Especially if you are active on those accounts. We know you are busy and this can be overwhelming, so pick a few that work for your business. Be sure to check on them occasionally for messages and to update important contact information or a post here and there when you can. What kind of accounts work well? The best sites are ones that show up in search results to maximize your ranking. Here are a few ideas just to name a few. (All depending on the type of business you have) the more the better. • Add photos to Google Images • Bing Places for Business • Facebook Business Page • YouTube • Pinterest • Ebay • Etsy • TicToc • industry-related blogs and forums • Instagram You will want to include your website address on both your profile info and every post to get inbound links to your website. Having lots of business accounts online isn’t just for your fans, but they also aid with higher search engine rankings for you. Quick TIP: Some places will not allow you to add your website address to your profile information, but there’s a way around this. Use a profile photo or header with your website address on the image. Be sure to check if this is ok in their policy or risk account termination.

More on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 1. How long does it take to Rank on Google? 2. 101 Simple tips to increase your website traffic. 3. Why you Don’t Need To Submit Your Website To Search Engines.

Your website updates Always think about how you can freshen up your website. New content will help kick you up a notch on search results. Consider new pages and features here as ideas to add key words that search engines like. Frequent updates can greatly improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) online.

Advertise on Facebook. 1. Facebook Ads: (Sorry, not free) You choose the audiences that can see your ad by location, age, interests, and more. This makes your ads more relevant for the people who see them. 2. Facebook Swap Groups: I get very good results using Facebook Swap Groups. To find a swap group in your area do a Facebook search for “Your town / county / state + swap” Make sure to check each group’s rules, as some do not allow business postings. 3. Business Page: This is a must-have, but honestly I find that Facebook doesn’t show your posts to very many people unless you pay for a post upgrade. Get a Fan Page Here. If you want to make sure your customers see your posts encourage them to subscribe to email updates. (MailChimp is our favorite newsletter management.) 4. Personal profile status updates: Many people like to support local businesses or buy from someone they trust. Why not promote yourself on your personal Facebook profile every once in a while. 5. Advertise on your personal Facebook page Cover Photo. You can edit your photos to include text to peek the interest of your friends about your business. 6. Of coarse you want to put your website address on your business pages About section, but why stop there? Put it on your personal page as well, and make sure it’s set as public information in your privacy settings. 7. The same goes for your current work information in your About section on your personal profile. Make sure to add your job title here even if you have another one listed. You can add more than one. Make sure this is set as public information as well. People will investigate new business owners before making a purchasing decision. 8. Anything you post on your business page, can be shared to your personal page. Sometimes your friends are your best customers and they are more likely to refer you to their friends. These are your strongest leads that you don’t want to miss out on. Remember to post of your Stories as well, because a lot of people will watch these before anything else.

The Competition is NOT your enemy. Seriously. In fact, they can help you!! WHAT! How can that be? Here’s a true story… I have a “friend” who was focused on a disgruntled relationship with a similar business in town. This person watched every move this other business did to “one-up” them. They had to be in every newspaper, fair and show the other one was in. I could go on and on with the conflicts they had with each other and in the end, it only brought hardship at every turn. As the years went on I encouraged them to focus on what they did well instead of what the “other business” was doing. Focus on your differences and not similarities, because it’s what makes you different that makes you special. For example, my “friend’s business” had a reputation of being highly detailed and doing each job so well that it would last many years longer than what is normally expected. On-the- other-hand the “other business” had a reputation for bad workmanship and customer service. He wasn’t friendly and his reputation was going own-hill fast. To counteract these series of events the “sour” business owner advertised and spent enormous amounts of money to get new customers. The interesting thing was that when customers started to contact this shady business they got a bad taste in their mouth and they left to find other businesses who would treat them better. Many would search online and find my “friend’s friendly business” instead because by that time they were in the market to buy and were ready to decide on who was going to get their business. In the end, “my friend” learned from his mistakes and he gained so much success that he was too busy to worry about anyone else even if he had the time. His business grew and he added employees and gained the respect of everyone in the industry. The advertisements of the other business benefited him greatly because of his good-natured and professional service. Do not be the guy this back-fires on. Always be polite and offer exceptional customer service. Customers talk to other people especially when they need to vent about substandard work. Do what you do well, and don’t worry about what the “other guy” is doing. If you keep treating employees and customers well you will go far. If you are known for offering the best widgets around people will come to you. Be the better person and don’t trash-talk the competition. Instead be the one who sends the customer over there when you are out of stock for something and then welcome them back when they return because you are honest and have a respected professional relationship, which is what matters in the end. Don’t copy the competition. Concentrate on what you do well and focus on your own strengths. If you are always looking at what they are doing you will never win.

Put your website address on everything! This may seem like a no-brainer, but ALWAYS remember to put your website address on your... • Business Cards & Fliers • Your business Facebook page (in the About section) • Newspaper & Radio Ads • Email signatures and other promotional items • Your Google Business listing • LinkedIn account • Include your website address on every online post you write. I often see client’s splashy expensive advertisements out in the public with no mention of their website. If you are going to spend the money on a website make sure everyone has access to it for when they are ready to be a valuable customer. Your website is your BEST employee! (read more)

Links & Resources Always be open to learn from others, consider the opportunities around you and utilize the tools that benefit you. Our Links & Resources page offers all kinds of ideas to inspire you to be your best. Topics Include: - Local services, business research, business tools and more.

Newsletters Newsletters have proven to be my best free advertisements. It’s the fastest and best way to get attention to your current news. Our favorite newsletter service is MailChimp. It’s free for under 2,000 subscribers and it keeps you out of the spam folders. One little tip that I like to implement. MailChimp allows you to view the subscribers who don’t open their emails, so if they don’t open your email for let's say 6 months, just remove them from your list. This way your limit of 2,000 isn’t full of people who will not read them anyway. Some good ideas for sending out newsletters - and social media posts. • seasonal promotions • holiday greetings • black Friday deals • service reminders • announcements

strengths lie in differences, not similarities

MailChimp

Send newsletters & manage subscribers to potential customers.

Press coverage One way to get free online advertising is by landing press coverage on industry news sites. Journalists are always looking for experts to contribute to their own content. Select the publications your target audience reads, and find journalists writing for the website. Email the journalist for a potential feature. If you’ve got something interesting to say, such as a new product line and the topic matches the site you’re writing for, there’s a good chance a journalist will cover it.

List your business on free local advertising sites Advertising increases the odds of reaching your target customer, but you don’t need to invest cash into advertising to get started. Attract your target market by listing your online store on free advertising sites. Free advertising doesn’t drain an already-limited small business of its resources. Invest some time into creating a profile, uploading your product listings, and writing a description that encourages them to buy through your online website (instead of the free advertising site). You’ll reach the millions of people who search online marketplaces to discover new products and services.

Go local! Vendor events are an incredible sales tool you can use to grow your direct sales business. Vendor events are an easy way to market your business and a great way to find new customers. Vendor events give you a chance to meet people in your area and let them know that you are their local connection for your business. A well-attended vendor event can have a very high return on your investment for your business. • Craft fairs • Trade shows • Local markets • Pop-up shops • Chamber of Commerce events Hand out your business cards at each event or have people scan a QR code from your signage - That way, you don’t need to carry or sell inventory in-person.

Create YouTube videos around trending topics YouTube is the second-most-visited website in the world! Take advantage of YouTube’s incredible potential by creating videos around trending topics. Do market research and uncover the topics your audience is interested in. Choose an engaging format to present your content, such as a “how to” guide or video tutorial, new brands/products, product reviews and upload it to your business’s YouTube channel. Increase the odds of your target market finding your videos by implementing the following YouTube SEO best practices: • Upload a custom thumbnail that encourages users to click your video • Add video tags to show YouTube which terms are relevant to your content • Use callout boxes, playlists, and end screens to increase video watch time • Write video descriptions that include keywords someone interested in your video would search • Include your website address in the description to divert viewers toward products on your online store “These videos tend to rank high in Google quickly, and everyone who lands on these videos is typically a very targeted customer.”

Never discount or giveaway your products or services. The moment you say something is free, the value drops to zero! Discounts are the same as giving your products or services away for free. It lowers the perceived value of what you are offering, and then it's very hard to add that value back. It kills the value of your product. As human beings, we tend to attribute value to things based on how much we pay for them. It’s the reason why many people value a Mercedes more than a Kia. It costs more and, therefore, it’s a better product. When something is free, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad, but it does mean that we will see less value in it. It’s nearly impossible to get people to pay for a product if they’ve been using it for free. Simply put, if they’re used to getting your product for free and asking them to pay all of a sudden just won’t work. You could also have problems with existing customers. The problem is, your loyal customers that have been paying for your product. Once they see that you’ve suddenly decided to give out a product for free product that they have been paying for, they probably will not be very happy.

Reward loyal customers with smart marketing Special invitations Instead of offering a discount on a new product line you’re dying to promote, invite shoppers to preview it during a special, after-hours event by invitation only! Provide a logo’d shopping tote to encourage shopping during the preview and as a special thank you for attending. Cash in on happy customers Some of the most effective publicity is positive word of mouth from happy customers. Ask customers to participate in a case study or a video testimonial about your brand. Reward loyalty “Repeat customers make up 20 percent of your customer base, but they are responsible for more than half of all sales.” A loyalty program can help build long-term relationships. Send personalized emails to your best customers with information about sales, new products and company news. Hold appreciation celebrations Company anniversaries and holidays are a great time to celebrate. Invite customers, neighbors and prospects to an open house. Create a festive look with streamers, logo’d balloons and refreshments.

Email Marketing Email marketing is an opportunity to communicate directly to your audience through their email. It’s a highly effective content marketing method even with a quick message, you’re likely to achieve significant results. Email marketing is excellent for building audience loyalty. Inform customers to be the first to know about: • the latest website updates • offer exclusive information • personalized offers / deals • new arrivals / products • convert leads to customers To build an email list, provide a form on your website where people can subscribe to your emails. Alongside the form, briefly describe the kind of content you’ll be sending your subscribers. “Email marketing is an essential tool for any business.”

Free Google Business Profile & Maps I can not express how important this is for your business! Having a Google Business listing will add your business information box to the right side of the search results window [called a “knowledge panel” which includes all your basic information. Exposure that is FREE!! AND it improves your SEO! Opening a Google Business Listing puts you on Google Maps. This is important for people who search with the words “near me” If your listing is unclaimed, you run the risk of another company or competitor hijacking your listing or editing the information in any way they wish. Including submitting their information instead of yours such as their phone number and website address. This NOT uncommon. With a Google Business page, you can manage Reviews, Photos/ videos, Post Updates, Contact Info, Locations, Hours of Opperation and even Keywords for your business or organization. 1. How to Create & Verify Your Google My Business Account Your free Google business listing (known as your Business Profile) can do more than you think. When properly optimized, it showcases your best features and makes it easy for consumers to discover, learn about, and contact your business. But in order to properly optimize your Business Profile, you need access to it, and in order to access it, you need to verify with Google that you are the rightful owner. (Instructions here) 2. Sign up for Google Business Profile Yes, it’s free! And it will bring you more online leads than from anywhere else. (Instructions here)

How do you find vendor events near you? • Google Search – Most craft fairs and vendor events have have a website, so a quick Google search can help you get started. Search for “vendor event (insert name of your city)” and see what pops up. You can also search for “craft fair” or “holiday fair.” • Local Facebook Groups – Community groups for your local area are a great way to see what’s going on locally in the next few months. Also don’t just look in your city. Make sure you expand your search to cities within driving distance. • Craigslist – is a great way to find events in your area. You can filter by different geographical regions around you, the dates you’re looking for, and even specific types of events. • Newspaper – Your local newspaper is still a great source for getting information on upcoming events in your area. Events can usually be found in the local section of the newspaper. • Chamber of Commerce – These guys are in the know on all the local happenings, so check your local Chamber’s website often. While you’re at it, see if they have any directories or networking events that would work well for your direct sales business. • Schools – Many schools have fairs and festivals that are used as fundraisers. Not all of them take vendors outside of parents, but it never hurts to ask. If you’re the parent of a student, this is also a great way to get your business out to the other parents at the school. • News Channel websites – Your local news station usually has a website that includes local events. Check regularly for any that are accepting vendor applications. • Non-profit organizations – Contact your local non-profit organizations to see if they offer any type of vendor or exhibitor events that you can either participate in or offer as a fundraiser. Many have fundraising events to bring awareness to their cause. • Holiday and Craft Fairs – There’s usually a swarm of holiday-type vendor events and craft fairs during the last quarter of the year. Some are small and take place at a local church, but others are huge and can take up an entire convention center. • Bridal Shows – Don’t forget about all those soon-to-be newlyweds! They’re starting to put together their own home and need stuff to fill it. If you offer anything home or fashion-related, wedding registries or bridal shower parties with local brides can give you a pretty big business boost. • Fair websites – Many websites specialize in events. Fairsandfestivals.net and Myfairsandfestivals.com are two big ones to check out. • Other Direct Sellers – We all have direct sales friends. Reach out to them and see what vendor events they have personally participated in and if they know of anything coming up. • EventBrite – Type the word “vendor” in the eventbrite.com search box, and the first list that comes up will be events in your local community. Including: Vendor Opportunities for Women, Vendor Booth, Craft Vendor, Vendor Fair & Jewelry Vendor. Search and go!

Partner with known experts in your field Run a marketing strategy that leverages a popular local expert’s existing customers to drive website traffic. The key is to find those whose target audience overlaps your own. For Example, if you provide wedding entertainment and there’s a well-established photography business who regularly works at your events, it would be to both of your advantage to help each other out by referring your clients and customers to each other’s businesses. Neither of you are in direct competition with each other and it benefits both of you. This understanding could be applied in several ways including: • cross promotion on each other’s websites • verbal or publicized referrals to aide customers in looking for additional wedding services • Professional business partnerships • combined advertising • or even bundled deals.

Business Emails Don’t forget to include an email signature with your contact details, signature branding, and links to your website and social media accounts.

Hey there! Ready to talk about your website? Chat Now on Messenger

Marketing Your Business

I strongly believe that “The more you put into your business, the more you will get out of it.” This is a no-nonsense practical list for non-techy people. We’ve weeded through the ‘junk’ to share strategies that has either worked for us or for the local community we live in. To learn more about any of these methods we encourage you to do your own research. Use these ideas as a starting point to learn about what works for you. Remember your customers want to find you, you just need to show them where you are. The best marketing plans focuses on your target customers through the channels they’re already using.

Local Free Classifieds for Advertising • Okoboji Classifieds • Explore Okokboji • CraigsList • KeloLand Classifieds • Oodle.com • Classifieds.com • Local Chamber of Commerce

Semi-Local Networking Websites LinkedIn Alignable Facebook Yelp Google + AngelList Twitter Instagram Foursquare YouTube Snapchat Make sure to request connections with local businesses and potential customers to get noticed.

20 Free Ways to Advertise Your Website

Online Directories • City Directories • County Directories • Community Directories • Local Online Classifieds • Chamber of Commerce • Business Directories • Newspapers • White Pages • Yellow Pages Be sure to include near-by communities that you service as well.

Local Self Marketing

• Blue Line Travel Center • Hy-Vee • Pizza Ranch • Ace Hardware • Runnings

Local Vendor Shows Host yourown show Clay County Fair [September] www.claycountyfair.com 800 W 18th St, Spencer, IA Minnesota State Fair [August] www.mnstatefair.org 1256 Snelling Ave N, St Paul, MN

Blogger

Share text, photos and videos with your readers and customers.

Local Bulletin Board Space in Worthington, MN.

• Gas Stations • Post Offices • Banks • Fitness Locations • Restaurants • City Hall • Laundry Mats • Library

Here's what you can do instead

Local Newspapers within 30 miles of Brewster, MN. Yes, this is for my local clients. :) Sorted by distance • The Globe [Worthington, MN] 9 mi • Tri County News [Heron Lake, MN] 10 mi • Fulda Free Press [Fulda, MN] 13 mi • Lakefield Standard [Lakefield, MN] 14 mi • Ocheyedan Press-Melvin News [Ocheyedan, IA] 20 mi • Observer / Advocate [Windom, MN] 21 mi • Jackson County Pilot [Jackson, MN] 24 mi • Nobles County Review [Adrian, MN] 24 mi • Livewire Printing [Jackson, MN] 24 mi • Westbrook Sentinel-Tribune [Westbrook, MN] 24 mi • Murray County News [Slayton, MN] 25 mi • Murray County Wheel Herald [Slayton, MN]] 25 mi • Dickinson County News [Spirit Lake, IA] 26 mi • Little Rock Free Lance [Little Rock, IA] 27 mi

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LET’S CONNECT MARJORIE PETERSON Freelance Website Developer CONTACT INFORMATION Brewster, Minnesota USA Phone 507.360.1600

Your Designs Online

Hours subject to change. Phone meetings are available by appointment. Feel free to send an email/call to verify availability.

Things to keep in mind after your website is complete. 1. Updates & Maintenance: At some point, you will probably want to update your website, or maybe even do a redesign to give it a fresh new look. Send your ideas or consult with me for ideas you haven’t thought about. I’d be happy to help you out to make your website grow with your business. More updates produces higher Google rankings! 2. Adding Additional Features: Many times a client will just want a basic website so that they can be found online, but after time goes by you may realize how much more could be added to benefit you. Send us your needs and I’ll suggest new features that you might not have even thought of. 3. Spammers love you: After a website is made the scammers come out to play. You might get all kinds of offers to improve or even pretend that you need to do a renewal to get money out of you. Tricking you into losing your domain name to a reseller or even a competitor. Ignore and delete any emails or letters if they are not from me 4. Google Rankings: Remember it can take several months for Google to index a new website to be found in search results. Things do not happen overnight and an established website will get a higher-ranking than a new one, so be patient and be glad that your on you’re way to success. (more info) 5. Title, Keywords, and Description: After you read all of the following tips, and you feel you have done everything you can to improve your SEO and you are still not happy with your website visitor counts, remember the thing is with SEO is that you can always do more. You should however consider changing your website keywords. Keywords are something that you can research and learn more about. If you would like to know what your current keywords are (or your competitor’s keywords) I can email them to you.

The Competition is NOT your enemy. Seriously. In fact, they can help you!! WHAT! How can that be? Here’s a true story… I have a “friend” who was focused on a disgruntled relationship with a similar business in town. This person watched every move this other business did to “one-up” them. They had to be in every newspaper, fair and show the other one was in. I could go on and on with the conflicts they had with each other and in the end, it only brought hardship at every turn. As the years went on I encouraged them to focus on what they did well instead of what the “other business” was doing. Focus on your differences and not similarities, because it’s what makes you different that makes you special. For example, my “friend’s business” had a reputation of being highly detailed and doing each job so well that it would last many years longer than what is normally expected. On-the-other-hand the “other business” had a reputation for bad workmanship and customer service. He wasn’t friendly and his reputation was going own-hill fast. To counteract these series of events the “sour” business owner advertised and spent enormous amounts of money to get new customers. The interesting thing was that when customers started to contact this shady business they got a bad taste in their mouth and they left to find other businesses who would treat them better. Many would search online and find my “friend’s friendly business” instead because by that time they were in the market to buy and were ready to decide on who was going to get their business. In the end, “my friend” learned from his mistakes and he gained so much success that he was too busy to worry about anyone else even if he had the time. His business grew and he added employees and gained the respect of everyone in the industry. The advertisements of the other business benefited him greatly because of his good- natured and professional service. Do not be the guy this back-fires on. Always be polite and offer exceptional customer service. Customers talk to other people especially when they need to vent about substandard work. Do what you do well, and don’t worry about what the “other guy” is doing. If you keep treating employees and customers well you will go far. If you are known for offering the best widgets around people will come to you. Be the better person and don’t trash-talk the competition. Instead be the one who sends the customer over there when you are out of stock for something and then welcome them back when they return because you are honest and have a respected professional relationship, which is what matters in the end. Don’t copy the competition. Concentrate on what you do well and focus on your own strengths. If you are always looking at what they are doing you will never win.

MailChimp

Send newsletters & manage subscribers to potential customers.

Business Emails Don’t forget to include an email signature with your contact details, signature branding, and links to your website and social media accounts.

Local Free Classifieds for Advertising • Okoboji Classifieds • Explore Okokboji • CraigsList • KeloLand Classifieds • Oodle.com • Classifieds.com • Local Chamber of Commerce

20 Free Ways to Advertise Your Website

Local Self Marketing

Local Vendor Shows Host yourown show Clay County Fair [September] www.claycountyfair.com 800 W 18th St, Spencer, IA Minnesota State Fair [August] www.mnstatefair.org 1256 Snelling Ave N, St Paul, MN

Blogger

Share text, photos and videos with your readers and customers.

I strongly believe that “The more you put into your business, the more you will get out of it.” This is a no- nonsense practical list for non-techy people. We’ve weeded through the ‘junk’ to share strategies that has either worked for us or for the local community we live in. To learn more about any of these methods we encourage you to do your own research. Use these ideas as a starting point to learn about what works for you. Remember your customers want to find you, you just need to show them where you are. The best marketing plans focuses on your target customers through the channels they’re already using.